A cracker of a PSL match saw Peshawar Zalmi pull off a victory against Lahore Qalandars in the first Super Over of the season on Monday (February 21).
While chasing Peshawar's total of 158/7, Lahore's skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi pummelled 23 runs in the final regular over to leave the match tied.
Then came the super drama-loaded Super Over. Wahab Riaz, who is the captain of Peshawar, took it all on him as he conceded just fiive runs. Further Shoaib Malik hit two back to back fours off Afridi's first two balls to seal the game for Peshawars.
Both Peshawars and Zalmis finished the group stage with 12 points but the latter finished second on a better net run-rate than Peshawar.
Qalandars, despite the defeat, ended second behind defending champions Multan Sultans with 12 points from 10 games, Zalmi also finished with 12 points but an inferior net run-rate pushed them to the third spot. Qalandars have made their best-ever finish in an HBL PSL group stage and now have the cushion of an extra game in the playoffs. Qalandars will commence the playoffs for a high-octane Qualifiers clash with the Sultans on Wednesday (February 23).
Qalandars struggled in their 159-run chase before Shaheen’s gem. Zalmi’s veteran all-rounder Malik dismissed the leading run-getter of the ongoing season Fakhar for a first-ball duck. Phil Salt (14) and Kamran Ghulam (25) added 37 for the second-wicket. However, both fell in quick succession as Qalandars stuttered to 51 for three inside six overs. Last match’s centurion Brook fell for two.
Mohammad Hafeez kept the fight on for the Qalandars with 49 off 44 (three fours, one six), the match had seemingly went out of Qalandars reach when Hafeez was sent packing by Wahab on the first ball of the penultimate over. Batting first Zalmi scored 158 for seven in their allotted 20 overs. Zalmi got off to a sluggish start losing the wickets of their in-form opener Mohammad Haris (6) and Hazratullah Zazai (20) in 5.1 overs. Kamran Akmal who returned to the side fell for 18.
Malik continued his good run with a 32-run contribution (28 balls, one four, one six). Malik has now taken his runs tally in the PSL 7 to 346 in 10 innings at 43.25, he is fourth in the tournament’s batting charts. Malik and Haider Ali (25 off 22, two fours, one six) stabilised the innings with a 60-run stand for the fourth-wicket. Khalid Usman who was making his first appearance of the season scored an unbeaten 19 off 11 to ensure a competitive total for Zalmi. Leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed who has been induced in the Qalandars squad to replace the prolific Rashid Khan (unavailable due to international commitments) took two wickets for 26 in four overs.
